How was health care paid for during the 1918 flu pandemic? How did the type and quality of care received differ between upper and lower classes? Were those without insurance treated and billed for it after recovery (as is common in the US today)?

by Magfaeridon

Further, which countries provided better/worse care for the lower classes and which countries had the most equitable care, regardless of the wealth of the patient?

SimplyBewildered

Health insurance as we know it in the United States is basically an invention of large corporations during WWII.

So it didn't matter if you were rich or poor in 1918, you didn't have insurance.

Type of care was also limited by tools and an understanding of the disease rather than money.

Medical care in the teens and early 20s was less about drugs and treatment regimens than actual care.

Nurses were hands-on, so were doctors. If you had a fever you were recommended to take cold baths.

Whether you recovered or not probably had a lot to do with your underlying health rather than what kind of medical care you could afford. Because even the best doctor in the world couldn't do much more than observe in 1918.

A better question would be how did care differ for civilians versus soldiers. (Millions of men were still in uniform when the Great Influenza Epidemic began.)